Improvement in piano-forte actions



I 'UNITED STATES PATENT Ormes.

VILLARD G. DAY, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

t IMPROVEMENT IN PIANO-FORTE ACTIONS.

i Specification forming part ot' Letters Patent No. IIOJQQ), datedDecember' IIS, 1370..

'o all whom t may con/067171,

Beit known that I, WILLARD G. DIY, of

Baltimore, in the county oi' Baltimore and l State of Maryland, haveinvented certain Improvements in Pianos, Organs, Melodeons, and SimilarInstruments, of which the following is a specification, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to pianos, melodeons, organs, and similar musicalinstruments; and it consists in the construction and arrangement ofcertain novel devices by which the keys can be made to repeat withoutreturning to their original or normal position, and also in constructingand arranging the keyboard in connection with cert-ain devices, so thatit may be easily and readily transposed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section of aninstrument showing the construction and arrangement oi' myi1nprovements.Fig. 2 is a front end view oi' Fig. l, showing a series of notches inthe frame ofthe instrument in which the supporting pin or catch of theend of the key-board bears or engages; and Fig. 3 is a verticalcrosssecticn on the line x x of Fig. l.

As is well known, only grand pianos, aswell y as those of the moreintricate and costly conj struction, are so made as to be repeatersW-that is, so that the same note can be repeated, with a softer and moredelicate tone, with the key before it returns to its original position.

The object of my invention is to provide devices so constructed andarranged with the ordinary parts of square or other pianos, or oforgans, melodeons, and similar instruments, by which they may beconverted into A repeaters.

In the drawings, A represents the box or frame of an instrument in whichthe strings or stops and the hammers B, with their jacks D, togetherwith the regulators C, and keys E,

with accompanying cushions, are constructed and arranged in any oftheusual ways, as shown in Fig. 1.

In ordinaryinstruments the keys E, when struck by the operator, )reducea single note,

nd there are no means for repeating.

In order to provide the requisite devices for this purpose,the ordinarykcys,E,are used lower keys, and over their front ends is nountcdkey-frame, G, in which upper keys, F, being those touched by theoperator, are pivoted in the usual manner.

The key-frame G has, on the under side of its rear end, eyes 72.,attached in any suitable manner, by means of which it is pivoted to ahorizontal pin or pins, t, connected to the box, so that it may movelaterally on the same as well as swing, for a purpose hereinafterexplained.

To the under side of each key F is pivoted a jack, a, as shown in Fig.I, provided with a spring,(not shown,) to hold it against the cushionedend of a regulator, b. This regulator is made adjustable in the usualmanner, and is inserted in and through the lower end oi' a pendent post,c, rigidly attached to the under side ofthe key F, as shown in the samegure.

In the lower key, E, under the end ot' the jack a, there is a cushioneddepression, d, the front end of which is provided with a bench or ledge,c, upon which the end or foot of the jack a bears or rests when theparts are all properly adjusted, as shown in said Fig. l.

Vhen these parts are thus constructed and properly adj usted, theinstrument can be made to repeat, as will readily be seen in operatingit, for as the key F is struck and driven down to give the full note itcarries down withitthe post c, the lower end oi' which moves in the areof a circle and causes the regulator D to press against the jack a andshove its lower end oft' of the ledge e. Thelower end of the jack thenstrikes into the depression d in thelower key, E, causing that end todescend and its opposite end to rise, and the upper end of the jack D tostrike againstits bearing in the cushioned notch ofthe hammer B, and toswingthe head oi the hammer against the string forgiving the note. Asthis is done the parts are i'orcedinto the position shown by the dottedlines marked j". \Vhen done, by letting up the pressure on the key Funtil it rises to the position of the dotted lines marked g, the end ot'the key E immediately under it will follow up the lower end oi' the jacka far enough to prevent its being returned to its place on the ledge c,and at the same time allow its opposite end to drop far enough to permitthe upper end ofthe jack l) to again engage with the hammer, when thenote can be repeated by again pressing upon the key F. As this can bereadily and promptly done after allowing aslight upward movement of thekeys, it is evident that a soft and delicate note can be secured asdesired.

In addition to these improvements for rcpeating, the key-frame G is soarranged as to be transposed. As explained above, its rear end is hingedby means of eyes to ahorizontal rod, so that it may be moved or slidlaterally. There may ofcourse be more or less of these eyes, and thepins or rods about which they turn and on which they slide may beconnected to the box orfraine ol the instrument in any suitable manner.rlhere may be a single rod extending all the way accross, or it maybe insections and attached at its ends, as shown in Fig.

To the front end of the key-frame is connected a pin, It, long enoughtoextend through an elongated horizontal opening, Z, in the frontotthebox, and drop into notches min the lower sido of said opening, asclearly shown in Fi g. 2.

Extending across the lower side of the keyi'rame G is a cross-piece, o,having its upper side cushioned and arranged so as to be under the arm pot' the jack et, as shown in l, l'or a purpose hereinafter explained.

When it is desired to transpose the upper keys, F, so that their jacks ashall bear upon the next adjoining lower keys, E, or even iarther, it isonly necessary to raise up the catchpin 7J, which causes the erossAbar 0to bear against the arms p of the jacks a, and frees the feet ofthejacks from theirbearings, and then to slide 'to key-framelaterally untilthe catchpin Y; can drop into another of the notches mf, these notchesbeing on a line with the keys E. ln this way it will be seen that thekey-frame can be readily transposed from one set ol' lower keys toanother readily and conveniently.

As the catch-pin k projects a little beyond the face of theinstrument,ahole orsocket may be made l'or it in theinner lace ol" theli d, both for the purpose of allowing the lid to lit close to the faceof the instrument, and also for the purpose of holding the pin, and withit the key, iirm in position when the instrument is packed and beingmoved.

Having thus described my invention, what I elai in isl. The combinationol thekeys F, provided with the regulators b and pivoted jacks c, withthe keys E, provided with the ledge c, constructed substantially sdescribed, and l'or the purpose set forth.

The combination ol` the upper and lower keys, E and F, with thejaek c,pivoted to the former and between their l'ront ends, as and l'or thepurpose set l'orth.

E). rhe key-trame G, haring its rear end attached to and arranged toslidelaterallyupon its connections, and its l'ront end provided with aeatclrpin, 7a, in combination with the opening Z, provided with thenotehesm in thel'ront side ot' the case ot' the instrument,substantially as and i'or the purpose set l'orth.

4C. In combination with thekey-'rameG, arranged to move laterally, andhaving its keys F provided with the pivoted jacks a, the crossA bar o,as and i'or the purpose set forth.

llflllilhll) G. DAY.

Vitnesscs:

ll. B. Mum", lnjii.. T. Dones.

